“This all comes down to the principle of neighbourhood policing,” he said.

“They were introduced in 2002 and before then neighbourhood policing had collapsed. The public used to complain they never saw the police walking the streets and there was no interaction with them.

“They are the people who develop relationships with the community and there is lots of evidence to suggest they represent value for money and deter crime with the intelligence they gather, particularly in terms of things like terrorism, which is founded on effective intelligence.”

Mr Jenkinson added the proposal to cut PCSOs and close front counters made the Police and Crime Plan, published last year, unachievable.

“The idea the force is going to be more resilient is little more than a pipe dream,” he said. “Norfolk Constabulary have not got the resources so they are going to ration their services.

“Undoubtedly there are financial pressures, so a resolution for this has to be to set with government to provide the appropriate level of resource to maintain effective policing in the county.

“The Police and Crime Plan says the commissioner wanted high visible policing and accessible policing. We say that plan is not worth the paper it is written on. We are going in entirely the opposite direction and the PCC cannot deliver his plan.

“Crime will continue to rise and public confidence in policing will be undermined.”